The thing about the Giants is that under Eli they never missed the playoffs until last season... and it was one of Eli's best years so basically it was the fault of the defense (and the OL and running game to an extent - but the O was scoring a lot anyway).

The D got a good young DC in Fewell, a BUNCH of quality safeties (including KP back from injury) and a few front seven guys. I just think they flat-out quit last year, maybe some guys were dinged up, I don't know, but they won't be that bad on defense again.

Figure I'll do a Standings Prediction.. I don't want to predict records because I don't feel like getting into the numbers.NFC NORTH
Green Bay
Minnesota
ChicagoDetroitNFC SOUTH
New OrleansCarolinaAtlanta Tampa Bay

This is going to be a three horse race that I believe will come down to the final games of the season. In terms of talent, Miami, New England, and the Jets are all very similar. All three teams have a ton of young starters in key roles and whichever young guys grow up and contribute the most best will be in prime position to take the division. When it came down to it, the Jets have the best defense and offensive line in the division and that was enough to overcome their inexperience at the skill positions on offense. Miami ends up getting held back by a young secondary that gets torched by the likes of Brady, Favre, Palmer, and Flacco, while New England’s porous offensive line leads to Brady taking a few too many hits that causes him to miss a few games that puts them in a deficit they cannot climb back from. Buffalo will show flashes of promise as some of their breadth of young players start to get used to the new schemes and the NFL and provide some promise going into next season.

Baltimore finally has an offense, and it’s a good thing as their defense continues to slow. A lack of pass rush combined with a lack of health in the secondary leave the Ravens a little worried early in the season but they learn to win with offense and a bend but don’t break defense and become the class of the AFC North. The Steelers, a bit lost in the debate and under the radar, have a classic bounce back season that surprises anyone who isn’t paying attention to the healthy Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith combined with the elite play coming from second year player Evander ‘Ziggy’ Hood. Cincinnati just misses out on the playoffs despite a much improved passing attack as the run game takes a step back when Cedric Benson’s nagging injury history returns leaving them to rely on Palmer’s arm a bit too much. Cleveland shows promise as Jake Delhomme puts up a surprisingly solid year but the run game and defense still need plenty of improvement.

Indianapolis is, once again, the class of the AFC in the regular season. Manning leads his plethora of weapons to another great season offensively and the bend but don’t break defense continues to work wonders in the regular season. Houston finally breaks through that barrier and makes the playoffs behind a much improved defense led by Super Mario, DeMeco Ryans, and first round pick Kareem Jackson providing them with the shutdown corner they haven’t had since before Dunta Robinson’s injury. Tennessee takes a step back as Vince Young’s magic wears off as teams remember to game plan for him again and the defense continues to miss the presence of a dominant defensive lineman. Jacksonville finally produces a pass rush this year, unfortunately for them, their passing offense takes a step back (if that’s even possible…) and the run defense and secondary fall apart as age, inexperience, and lack of talent all combine for an implosion.

San Diego wins the division despite having the holdouts of Marcus McNeill and Vincent Jackson go basically all season although their returns provide them with a nice playoff push that sees them finish with double digit wins, good enough for a first round loss due to Norv Turner’s ridiculous inability to game plan. Oakland makes good on its promise to be a winning team with an improved run defense backed by DROY Le’Ron McClain and an offense that actually scores points due to Jason Campbell and Zach Miller’s breakout seasons, but rival Kansas City performs an upset special in week 17 to keep them out of the playoffs. Kansas City continues in the right direction behind offensive gurus Charlie Weis and Todd Haley, causing them to put up points although the defense still isn’t quite there despite a monster double-digit sack season from Tamba Hali. Denver shows its age in the secondary, inexperience and lack of talent in the front seven, and lack of playmakers on offense that puts McDaniels’ job in jeopardy.

Dallas continues to play extremely well in the regular season behind an improved offense, thanks to the addition of Dez Bryant, and a defense that continues to wreak havoc on opposing QBs with the tandem of Ware and Spencer. The Eagles take a step back with Kolb at the helm as he makes some dumb mistakes early in the season that set them into a deficit they can’t climb out of. The Giants’ offensive line causes them to put too much emphasis on the pass game that makes them too one dimensional to make a legitimate playoff push. The Redskins take a small step forward with McNabb at the helm but even he can’t overcome the lack of receiver talent and lack of running game despite RB guru Shanahan at the helm.

Green Bay rides Aaron Rodgers’ arm and a very strong defense in their second season under Capers’ scheme and rides a wave of momentum heading into the playoffs finishing on a six game winning streak. Favre is just fine without Rice for much of the season as Camarillo and Berrian hold down the fort just fine while Rice and Harvin get healthy. The Bears offense looks fantastic under Mike Martz but the defense continues in the wrong direction causing them to lose too many shootouts. The same can be said for the Lions as the trio of Megatron, Stafford, and Best make the Lions EXCITING to watch but, unfortunately for them, Suh can’t stop everyone on defense by himself.

New Orleans experiences a minor Super Bowl hangover but still put up a great season behind Drew Breesus and a defense that is sounder technically and functionally but doesn’t produce quite as many turnovers. Carolina looks pretty good under Matt Moore and Brandon LaFell finally provides Steve Smith with a compliment he hasn’t had since Moose was still functional but the defense really misses Julius Peppers and doesn’t produce enough pass rush. The Bucs show some good fight and are overall improved with McCoy, Price, Mike Williams, and Josh Freeman all having respectable seasons but there is still a lack of talent that leads them to continue to linger in the basement.

After a two year run of being on top, the retirement of Kurt Warner and failure to have a succession plan that actually fits Whiz’s offense, Arizona will see a bit of a drop off this year as Derek Anderson simply hasn’t shown anything apart from a two game stretch two years ago. That leaves the door open for the 9ers, Rams, and Seahawks to take over the division. The 49ers are in the best position to take over that spot as they already have one of the best defenses in the NFL and with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, they finally have the receiving weapons to go with Frank Gore and Alex Smith showed more in the last few games last season than Anderson ever showed. The Rams and Seahawks are two teams that are both moving in the right direction but they still have a ways to go. Bradford will have difficulty getting into a rhythm with the porous offensive line and lack of wide receivers due to Donnie Avery going down with an injury again but with Steven Jackson and an improving defense, they should be much improved from last year. The Seahawks have health on their side for the first time in years but they are going with the youth movement that should show lots of promise but will not translate into wins for a couple years.

Pittsburgh continues on its season ending hot streak by taking out the Chargers whose lack of solid gameplanning and worn down RBs can’t get the offense going. The Jets shut down Houston’s high-powered offense as Revis Island takes away Andre Johnson and the youth at the other key positions and lack of playoff experience shows.

Pittsburgh continues to ride the momentum and manages to take out Indianapolis as Pittsburgh has owned them in the playoffs the last decade. Baltimore outduels the Jets in the week 1 rematch as Baltimore’s offense is just too hard for the Jets to contain.

AFC Championship Game:
No. 6 Pittsburgh at No. 2 Baltimore

In this classic NFC North Showdown, the Steelers and Ravens face off for the third time to decide the series as Baltimore won at Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh won at Baltimore. At the end of the day, a return touchdown from the under-rated offseason pickup, Donte Stallworth, seals the deal for the Ravens.

Atlanta and New Orleans face off for the third time of the season and New Orleans continues the trend of the home team taking the win as the offense is just too much for Atlanta to keep up with. Minnesota shuts down San Francisco’s offense by taking away the run game with the Williams wall, causing Alex Smith to make a few mistakes that Minnesota’s secondary happily capitalize on.

NFC Divisional Round:

No. 3 New Orleans at No. 2 Green Bay
No. 5 Minnesota at No. 1 Dallas

New Orleans sees its season end as Green Bay comes out on top in a classic shoot-out behind Rodgers hooking up with Jordy Nelson for a long TD pass in the final two minutes. Minnesota ends Dallas’ hopes of playing a home field Super Bowl as Romo crumbles under the pressure…and Jared Allen.

NFC Championship Game:
No. 5 Minnesota at No. 2 Green Bay

In another classic rematch, Green Bay fans boo Brett Favre so much that it rattles him and he ends his career in the town where he made a name for himself by throwing multiple mind-numbing interceptions.

Super Bowl:

Green Bay 38, Baltimore 28

In yet another memorable Super Bowl, the young gunslingers Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco put on a show with their arms and at the end of the day, the slightly more experienced Rodgers comes out on top as Baltimore’s secondary just can’t stop Driver, Finley, Jennings, and Nelson.